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    Your Elvenar Team

Advice to New Members: Things I wish I'd done differently when I was you.

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
After speaking to a new member, I thought back to all the things I did that I still kick myself over. I thought perhaps others might want to impart their biggest "don'ts" here in this thread as well, for the sake of those still in chapters one or two. There are some things I wish I could do over, the main ones being:

1. Don't disenchant all your portal profits to craft silly things in the MA, thinking you're SO FAR away from the guest chapters, you'll get plenty more later (you don't!)

2. Don't overscout to where every scout for the next chapter is very hard no matter what you do.

3. Don't decide in Chapter One to cater all your fights and build no armories, no troops, etc. I lost so much time that I could have built a fighting force that I certainly learned to love.

4. Don't build every single manufactory and put your labor into building them up, getting attached to them in the process. You'll hate selling them later after they're pretty, but you'll need to if you want a great city. Concentrate on your boosted items and build a lot more of them. Trade with your neighbors or fs members for other items.

5. Don't join the first fellowship that seems nice. Once you get attached to the members, it will be gut wrenching to find one that is more suited to your style. Research your fellowship FIRST. The way some people do it is to click on their ranking number and go to the fellowship tab. See which fellowships you like from there, what their message sounds like, what their rankings are, how many members they have, etc. Then when you find a couple you like, go to elvenstats.com and see what kinds of items they are low on and what they need. Do you have what they need as your boosts? Or will you just add to a glut that they already have? Are there a lot of black triangles next to the names of people in the fellowship? That's a sign you probably won't get much support from them. Check thoroughly and then join ... don't join and feel guilty about leaving later, after you've made friends.

So ... anyone else have some "don'ts"?
 

NightshadeCS

Well-Known Member
I agree with #5 to a point. I would say, get into a fellowship right away (with maybe a tiny bit of research) so that you can reap the benefits, and just keep in mind that you will likely want to move once you get a handle on your play style and what kind of group you will work well with.

I wish I had known earlier when to stop researching optional squad size upgrades. If anyone wonders about why, there are several threads covering this topic.

I also wish that I had known which Ancient Wonders were worth investing in before I wasted hundreds of KP on things like Enar's Embassy.

Great thread idea, Darielle!
 

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
I agree with #5 to a point. I would say, get into a fellowship right away (with maybe a tiny bit of research) so that you can reap the benefits, and just keep in mind that you will likely want to move once you get a handle on your play style and what kind of group you will work well with.

I wish I had known earlier when to stop researching optional squad size upgrades. If anyone wonders about why, there are several threads covering this topic.

I also wish that I had known which Ancient Wonders were worth investing in before I wasted hundreds of KP on things like Enar's Embassy.

Great thread idea, Darielle!
Ah ... all of your points are good and I wish those things too. And yes, I agree you should get into a fellowship as quickly as possible, but not the first one that sends you an invite without any research of it. That's all I meant, but I'm glad you clarified that.
 

LisaMV

Well-Known Member
I also wish that I had known which Ancient Wonders were worth investing in before I wasted hundreds of KP on things like Enar's Embassy.

Great thread idea, Darielle!
YES thank you Darielle - though even in wee chapter 3 I am kicking myself about all the dumb things I have done already, LIKE (omg) "1. Don't disenchant all your portal profits to craft silly things in the MA, thinking you're SO FAR away from the guest chapters, you'll get plenty more later" ARGH! Though I did stop doing it, pretty quickly...

Ancient Wonders - yikes! They are very confusing. After having read round & round on these pages, when I finally had room to build I decided on the Golden Abyss. Any other recommendations? In like 3 years when I have another expansion?! :oops:
 

Deleted User - 4343124

Guest
Ancient Wonders - yikes! They are very confusing. After having read round & round on these pages, when I finally had room to build I decided on the Golden Abyss. Any other recommendations? In like 3 years when I have another expansion?! :oops:

Soggy summarizes it best, can't find the exact post since I copied this a while ago.
And just in case...
EE - Endless Excavation
PT - Prosperity Towers
ToS - Tome of Secrets

"No brainers"
EE, PT, ToS. Each of them are better than workshops at level 1(with extremely rare exceptions like making bread 24/7, only collecting from PT once a day, and 72H+ scout times)

Shrewdly shrooms- this building is an absolute must have if you want to use military. Even at level 1 it's better than a third armory, and it takes up zero pop.

Dwarven bulwark-generally KP invested in the shrewdly is better than the dwarven bulwark, but you might unlock the bulwark months earlier which makes this a great wonder until then, and if you level it, it's not worth deleting.

Needles-again, only military, but most troops come from barracks, and once you reach a point where your barracks level is always at max, then the only way to get more troops is this wonder(or crafting)

Monastery/sanctuary after the shrewdly this is hands down the best military wonder. The only way to gain an advantage over the enemy in tournaments is to have buffed troops, and this is the only wonder that buffs all of them.

Mountain halls- any build that has at least 6 factories is better off building a MThall than building a 7th factory. The more factories the better it is, and that's not even counting the pop it gives you.

Golden abyss-as mentioned above, once this gives better pop per square than a house (around chapter 5/6) it's an obvious win.

Special mention
Dragon abbey-a really cool wonder where you can get instant mana by spamming spells. The problem is that crafting might get better and better and the CC spell doesn't give mana. Also, you need to run your magic academy pretty much 24/7 to build up enough spells to make it useful meaning a greater commitment to the tournament for needed relics. Finally, you can't really use this as your only mana source and use spells often( like constant PoP or MM)
All other military wonders. If you get heavy into the tournaments, then you'll want to start adding in either the wonders that shore up your weak spots (human heavy ranged+toads) or doubles down on your strengths (dogs+victory springs) as space allows.
Elvenar trade center- good for getting needed seeds in elementals, but much less needed in Amuni...but the boost to MM is quite powerful, so I'd say it's playstyle dependent.

The absolute worst wonders are imo:
Maze/Enars-every event offers a building that is far far better per square at mana production.
Thrones- not terrible for culture, but every KP invested would better be spent elsewhere.
Blooming trader- if you win 1 trading post per event you are better off than having a level 11 BTG. And you save 17 squares. No, the wholesale reduction isn't great, go buy KP instead;)
Pyramid-craft a vallorian vallor or 2 instead, this needs to be level 9 or 13 to be better per square.
LoGN- very niche wonder with a fatal flaw: you need buffs on mana buildings which generally arent your best culture buildings. If someone has a strategy where this wonder makes sense, I'd love to hear it.
Sunset towers- this wonder comes far too late to be of any use. The need for seeds drops dramatically in Amuni, so if there isn't a massive increase in seed requirements for chapter 14 it's a rather pointless wonder.

Then come the other culture wonders. If you like the super efficient culture&pop hybrids from events and get about 30-40%+ of your pop from them, then you will have no need for pure culture buildings in your city meaning the watch tower and lighthouse combo has no value as you won't need any culture buffs to hit 150% bonus- this is an especially effective strategy for players in more casual FS where they can't count on a lot of visits as they will see a better return after about 20-30% pop from hybrids.
If, for some reason, you don't do events, or choose other event buildings than the hybrids, then YMMV.
A quick note about the "build them all" strategy: it's true that every wonder is better than not having it(ignoring space efficiency), but if you build them all then you will largely have luck dictate which ones you can level up.
Without some skipped wonders like the lighthouse or thrones that you can use to smash runes and fill wanted wonders, you need a combination of luck, patience or diamonds to get the runes you need.
 

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
YES thank you Darielle - though even in wee chapter 3 I am kicking myself about all the dumb things I have done already, LIKE (omg) "1. Don't disenchant all your portal profits to craft silly things in the MA, thinking you're SO FAR away from the guest chapters, you'll get plenty more later" ARGH! Though I did stop doing it, pretty quickly...

Ancient Wonders - yikes! They are very confusing. After having read round & round on these pages, when I finally had room to build I decided on the Golden Abyss. Any other recommendations? In like 3 years when I have another expansion?! :oops:

You are most welcome!

The golden abyss is probably the very best one to start out with. I LOVE mine, and they just get better and better the more you upgrade them.

I just got rid of a level three Crystal Lighthouse ... those are definitely not worth the space.

Although I don't have it yet, I've heard many people say that they love the Dragon Abbey. I plan to get one as soon as possible. Other good ones are Shrine of the Shrewdy Shrooms, Martial Monastery. A lot of people like Endless Excavation. I am waiting a bit before I put that down, simply because I'm space challenged. (Aren't we all?) I had a recent thread about good wonders. A lot of people weighed in on that one. I'll see if I can find it.
 

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
Soggy summarizes it best, can't find the exact post since I copied this a while ago.
And just in case...
EE - Endless Excavation
PT - Prosperity Towers
ToS - Tome of Secrets
Ah yes, Soggy's list. That one is great.
 

AtaguS

Well-Known Member
Oooh this is a great idea Darielle!
I was lucky to have a veteran in my first fs to guide me through but...

1. Unlocking dead-end squad size upgrades is not a great idea (you can always change your mind later and upgrade then)

2. Wish I hadn't taken up so much space with more than 2 armories in the start...just had to tear them down later.

3. Wish I had built up fighting AWs earlier...tournaments are such a big way to grow a small city quickly.
 

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
Oooh this is a great idea Darielle!
I was lucky to have a veteran in my first fs to guide me through but...

1. Unlocking dead-end squad size upgrades is not a great idea (you can always change your mind later and upgrade then)

2. Wish I hadn't taken up so much space with more than 2 armories in the start...just had to tear them down later.

3. Wish I had built up fighting AWs earlier...tournaments are such a big way to grow a small city quickly.
All great points, AtaguS. Thank you for weighing in.
 

mucksterme

Oh Wise One
Upgrade your Main Hall every chance you get

Be aware that as time goes on and your boost % increases and your factories upgrade you will need fewer factories. So even though you have use for ten steel factories now, don't get too attached. You'll want to scrap several of them as you progress. ( I am now down to three factories of each tier and producing way more than I need).

On the week that the tourny is your boost, that should be your priority. Even if you have not yet unlocked T3, you want to concentrate on collecting relics until you get at least 500.

Don't worry about ranking too much. Do what is best for your city and the points will come.
 

Enevhar Aldarion

Oh Wise One
Now that we have the Teleport Spell, not building your non-boosted factories is not as painful and makes it dumb to listen to the people screaming "never ever build your non-boosted factories!" Or at least this is true for one of the two non-boosted goods of each tier because one of your non-boosted goods of each tier will become a Sentient boosted good in chapters 12, 13, and 14. So building and upgrading a couple of factories of what will become your sentient goods, and then teleporting them into your inventory once you max them out for your current chapter, will save you a ton of time when you get to the point of actually needing them.

To prepare for that, if your boost is marble, then your sentient boost in chapter 12 will be steel, and if it is steel, the sentient will be planks, and if planks, then you will need marble. The same progression applies to the other two tiers. Again, having a couple at max level before reaching chapter 12 will literally save you days and days of building and leveling and allow you to make your sentient boosted good much sooner, and also allow you to trade for the other two sentient goods of that tier much sooner.
 

Alpha Lyrae

Well-Known Member
1. Attach buildings to roads on the short side to maximize your space. I didn't learn this until I started coming to the forums and probably could have avoided some premium expansions early on.
2. I don't think it's beneficial to spend diamonds on culture buildings. Very early on I did this only to have to sell them later. Their benefit quickly becomes outdated IMO. This may be different now that it's a bit easier to come across diamonds. Maybe it doesn't hurt so much to sell them off now. lol
3. If you are inclined to buy Magic Residences/Magic Workshops, wait until they go on sale. Patience is key.
4. Same for purchasing diamonds if you're on a budget. Wait for the 100% sale.
5. Learn to determine a building's benefit per square. Again, this is about maximizing space, which is at a premium in this game. So, determine a building's culture/square or pop/square. You may find you have some inefficient buildings that can be replaced with better ones from events/Magic Academy.
6. Utilize tools outside of the game like https://www.elvenarchitect.com/, elvenstats, elven gems, etc.
 

mucksterme

Oh Wise One
Now that we have the Teleport Spell, not building your non-boosted factories is not as painful and makes it dumb to listen to the people screaming "never ever build your non-boosted factories!" Or at least this is true for one of the two non-boosted goods of each tier because one of your non-boosted goods of each tier will become a Sentient boosted good in chapters 12, 13, and 14. So building and upgrading a couple of factories of what will become your sentient goods, and then teleporting them into your inventory once you max them out for your current chapter, will save you a ton of time when you get to the point of actually needing them.

You shouldn't throw the word "dumb" around when you make such a silly recommendation.
You want people to waste space and resources on a building that they will want in two years? Have that practically useless marble factory sitting there during the time that space is hardest to come by?
If you wait until you need them those first 5 or 6 levels take no time at all. Especially if you've been playing the Spire and collecting time boosts.

So add this advice for new people.

Don't take advice from someone who claims everyone else is "dumb."
 

Crow Last Elf

Well-Known Member
I wish I knew Day 1 that there was a option to ask for confirmation to use diamonds. I didn't realize that I had turned off the warning when I used diamonds. So I lost all the first diamonds that I had because it is easy with the app to mistakenly use them.
 

Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
I wish I knew Day 1 that there was a option to ask for confirmation to use diamonds. I didn't realize that I had turned off the warning when I used diamonds. So I lost all the first diamonds that I had because it is easy with the app to mistakenly use them.
I lost over 100 diamonds in one blow and came to cry on the forum. That's how I stumbled into the forum in the first place and that's why I'm still here. So maybe in my case, it was a good thing, lol. I learned so much in here besides enabling that warning. But I do empathize with you because that really bites!
 

Deleted User - 4646370

Guest
I have a weird "don't" which is not for brand new members but for players in chapters 6+ :
Don't wait too long stockpiling Portal profits before using them. In my first city I didn't use them until chapter 13 and I finished with too much of them. (In chapter 15 for me sentient boost production was so long that I produced almost more Portal profits than I used).
As said in the first post of this thread, this doesn't mean you should disenchant them : if you don't want to be locked in techtree you are likely to need them as soon as chapter 6, which comes quite quickly !
 
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NightshadeCS

Well-Known Member
Don't wait too long stockpiling Portal profits before using them. In my first city I didn't use them until chapter 13 and I finished with too much of them

I think this can vary quite a lot. I am in Chapter 15, and I am burning through a lot of PP. I used almost none in the previous chapters, usually waiting until my portal was fully upgraded and then using a few to finish off a chapter. In 15, I have gotten rid of most of my Elvenar production buildings and am just working on Sentients and using PP to make up the difference. Also, Chapter 16 should be releasing soon, so we will have a chance to use them there, assuming.

That being said, don't be afraid to use them, but I would caution to use them wisely. Not every chapter works the same way and those PPs can really keep you from getting stuck and wasting things that end up decaying. : )
 
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